Archived News for Research Sector Professionals

The CSIRO team that invented a new, faster wireless local area networking method, which went on to form the basis of modern Wi-Fi, has won the European Inventor Award 2012.

The Beef Co-operative Research Centre at Armidale in NSW will close at the end of June, having failed to secure ongoing funding.

The NSW 2012-13 Budget has allocated funding of more than $45 million for the Office for Medical Research, including:

The Australian National University and the Research School of Physics and Engineering have announced a joint collaboration that will see the construction of a pioneering plasma thruster, an engine that could be used  to power satellites as far as Mars. The collaboration will also see the construction of a space simulation facility at Mt Stromio Observatory.

A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide have found that twins born at 37 weeks are significantly less likely to develop serious complications.

Victorian Governor Alex Chernov will lead the state’s 60 strong delegation attending the world’s largest biotechnology convention and exhibition, Bio2012.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US has awarded a grant of A$4.48 million to researchers from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) and Rempex Pharmaceuticals in California to design and develop new antibiotics that are effective against bacterial ‘superbugs’ that cause life-threatening infections and are resistant to all current antibiotics.

The grant is the third large RO1 grant received over the last five years.

Antibiotic resistance is an urgent global medical challenge. Currently, a class of antibiotics known as polymyxins are used to treat multidrug-resistant bacteria. However infections that are unresponsive to this last-line therapy have recently been reported in many countries.

The MIPS team comprises Associate Professor Jian Li, Dr Tony Velkov, Professor Roger Nation, Associate Professor Philip Thompson and Dr Kade Roberts. Associate Professor Li and Professor Nation have been investigating polymyxins for more than a decade and are regarded as international leaders in the field.

Rempex is a San Diego based pharmaceutical company focused exclusively on developing drugs to combat emerging antibiotic resistance.

Dr Li, the Program Director of the project, said timing was critical as rising resistance to polymyxins would mean virtually a complete lack of treatment options for some life-threatening infections.

"It is not an exaggeration to state that the world is on the brink of a return to the pre-antibiotic era," Associate Professor Li said.

"In recent decades, bacteria that are resistant to all available antibiotics have emerged, while at the same time there has been a marked decline in the search for new drugs to combat these superbugs."

The five year project will design and develop new antibiotics to address bacterial resistance, and allow successful treatment of acute and chronic infections.

"We're aiming to develop at least one new drug candidate for future clinical trials," Associate Professor Li said.

Senior Vice President for Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at Rempex Michael Dudley Pharm. D, said that industry-academic partnerships would be a very important mechanism for developing new antiinfectives for development.

“Rempex is looking forward to working with the MIPS team on identifying new drug candidates to meet the serious challenge of antibiotic resistance," Dr Dudley said.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America has identified a 'hit-list' of six multidrug-resistant bacteria as being the most difficult to treat. These bacteria will be targeted by the MIPS researchers and their Rempex collaborators in California.

Global data specialist Thompson Reuters has announced 12 Australian researchers to receive Citation Awards in recognition of their outstanding contribution to their respective fields of research. In addition to nominating the cohort of excellence, the company has also recognised seven Australian orgaisations for their excellence in innovation.

Griffith University has announced its medical researchers are ‘on the brink’ of an effective treatment for the deadly Hendra virus and its closely related Nipah virus.

The NSW Government has committed an additional $70 million over the next four years to medical research and development in response to the NSW Health and Medical Research Strategic Review 2012 released by NSW Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research,  Jillian Skinner.

The University of New England is set to become a regional mental health research hub following the announcement of a $4.8 million Collaborative Research Network (CRN) project.

The Federal Government has announced new funding of $3 million for eight projects to enable scientists to conduct critical research into the Hendra virus, following a fresh outbreak in Queensland.

The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Professor Aidan Byrne as the new CEO of the Australian Research Council.

The University of Tasmania (UTAS) has been awarded two significant grants by the Federal Government to continue crucial forestry and aquaculture research.

The Federal Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education is looking to appoint a new Head of Division, Science and Research Group.

A new research facility located at Monash University will drive world-first research into the early detection of cardiac disease using ultra-sensitive biomedical imaging equipment supplied by Siemens.

Supported by a $7 million grant from the Victorian Government, the Monash Biomedical Imaging (MBI) centre was officially opened today by the Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business, Louise Asher.

The facility features state-of-the-art Siemens equipment, including pre-clinical and clinical scanners, which will be pivotal in assessing how imaging can detect plaque formation in the carotid arteries of elderly patients.

MBI Director, Professor Gary Egan said the facility's unique co-location with the Australian Synchrotron Imaging and Medical Beam Line, enabled advanced imaging techniques to predict cardiac function and disease onset in the elderly.

“The research at MBI could result in ground-breaking discoveries that may lead to the early detection of markers associated with the prevention of neurological and cardiovascular diseases including stroke," Professor Egan said.

Professor Egan said the facility would provide coordinated access and operational support to biomedical imaging infrastructure, as well as research training and advanced technological development in close collaboration with researchers and industry partners including Siemens.

Vice-President of Siemens Healthcare, Richard Guest, said there was an increasing demand for collaborative treatments incorporating imaging and drug therapies to assist in the goal of advancing human health.

“There is a significant shift in medical research towards the use of highly advanced body imaging which literally provides clinicians with a virtual 3D replica of the cardiovascular system, to detect and prevent disease,” Richard Guest said.

“This partnership allows for Monash and Siemens to join forces to identify these key indicators. Using world-class technology increases the accuracy significantly and places Monash amongst the leading biomedical imaging research centres in the world,” Mr Guest said.

The opening of MBI marked the establishment of a new node of the Victorian Biomedical Imaging Capability (VBIC) – a collaboration between Monash University, Swinburne University, The University of Melbourne and the Florey Neuroscience Institute - which the State Government granted a further $8.5 million in support.

The Government also recently announced $26 million for a further four years of operational funding for the Australian Synchrotron facility at the Clayton campus.

The research into predictors of cardiac disease will be undertaken as a sub-study of the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly trial. 

Researchers at Switzerland’s Federal Polytechnic School have announced a breakthrough in spinal chord research after scientists restored voluntary lower body movement to a paralyzed rat.

Funding of  $1.75 million has been awarded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to Professor Claude Bernard and his research team at Monash University to collaborate with researchers at the University of California on developing improved treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) using a new adult stem cell technique. 

A $7 million centre, the INSPIRE Centre, designed to lead research and practice in the use of technology, has been launched at the University of Canberra.

The universe contains substantially more atomic hydrogen – the fuel that keeps stars burning – than previously thought according to new research conducted by the CSIRO.